How  My  Father  Secured 
Lincoln's  Autograph 

By    FRANCIS     DURBIN     BLAKESLEE 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign 


http://www.archive.org/details/howmyfathersecurOOblak 


George   Harmon  Blakeslee 
1819— 1876 


How  My  Father  Secured 
Lincoln's  Autograph 

BY 

Francis  Durbin  Blakeslee 


PRIVATELY   PRINTED 

SPANISH    AMERICAN   INSTITUTE    PRESS 

19     2     7 


1 13.  IL-<*>^> 


OR  A  YEAR  AND   A    HALF,  including 

the  close  of  the  great  Civil  War, 
I  was  a  clerk  in  the  Quartermaster 
General's  Office  at  Washington, 
D.  C.  My  father,  the  Rev.  George 
Harmon  Blakeslee,  was  then  pastor 
of  the  Court  Street  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of 
Binghamton,  New  York. 

In  response  to  a  call  of  the  Christian  Com- 
mission, my  father,  along  with  other  pastors  in  the 
North,  secured  a  temporary  release  from  pastoral 
duties  and  was  engaged  in  special  service  at  the 
front,  ministering  to  soldiers  on  the  battlefields 
and  in  hospitals,  and  holding  religious  services 
among  the  troops,  from  October  4  to  Novem- 
ber 4,  1864. 

On  his  way  home  from  the  field,  he  stopped 
with  me  at  my  lodging-place  in  Washington.  At 
the  breakfast  table,  the  morning  of  November  2, 
1864,  he  said,  (referring  to  a  brother  minister 
who  had  accompanied  him  and  who  was  then  at 
another  home  in  the  Capital,)  "We  are  going  to 
call  upon  the  President  this  morning." 

When  next  we  met,  in  the  evening,  he  showed 
me  the  autograph  of  President  Lincoln,  obtained 
by  him  that  day. 


A* 


This  was  in  the  memorandum  book  of  the 
Christian  Commission,  given  to  my  father  as  one 
of  the  delegates  in  that  service. 


A  few  years  ago,  in  rny  attic  at  Binghamton, 
where  I  resided  from  1908  to  191 8,  I  unexpect- 
edly came  across  two  little  plain  blank-books,  which 
proved  to  be  the  diary  of  my  father  during  the 
month  that  he  served  the  Christian  Commission. 

I  turned  with  eagerness  to  the  date  on  which 
my  father  visited  me,  and  to  my  delight  found 
the  record  of  the  interview  of  these  two  Methodist 
preachers  with  Lincoln  at  the  White  House,  the 
second  of  November,  1864: 

At  2  P.  M.  accompanied  by  Rev.  E.  W.  Breck- 
inridge, visited  the  Presidential  Mansion.  Four 
young  men  approached  the  President  who  were 
anxious  to  get  his  aid  relative  to  a  matter  which  I 
did  not  understand.  But  Mr.  Lincoln,  who  was 
seated  in  his  chair,  replied  to  them  kindly  but 
firmly,  "I  can  do  nothing  for  you."  When  they 
urged  that  their  papers  should  be  read,  he  replied, 
"I  should  not  remember  if  I  did.  The  papers  can 
be  put  into  their  proper  places  and  go  through 
their  proper  channels."  A  lady  next  appeared  and 
presented,  a  paper.  He  took  it  and  read  it  and  re- 
plied, "This  will  not  do.  I  can  do  nothing  for  your 
husband."  "Why  not?"  said  the  lady.  "Because," 
said  Mr.  Lincoln,  "he  is  not  loyal."  "But  he  intends 
to  be;  he  wants  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance." 
"That  is  the  way  with  all  who  get  into  prison," 
replied  the  President.  "I  can  do  nothing  for  you." 
"But  you  would"  said  the  lady,  "if  you  knew 
my  circumstances."  "No,  I  would  not.  I  am  under 
no  obligation  to  provide  for  the  wives  of  disloyal 
husbands.  Hasn't  your  husband  the  consumption?" 
"No,"  replied  the  lady.  "Well,"  said  the  Presi- 
dent, "it  is  the  only  case.  Nearly  all  have  the 
consumption." 

Another  lady  presented  her  case  which  was  a 
similar  one  and  met  a  similar  result.  Next  Rev. 


E.  W.  Breckinridge  presented  himself  and  handed 
him  his  card.  "What  is  your  name?"  asked  Mr. 
Lincoln.  "Breckinridge,"  replied  Brother  B. 
"Rather  a  suspicious  name*,  but  I  am  loyal.  I 
have  long  desired  to  see  you  and  take  you  by  the 
hand.  I  am  glad  to  see  you  bearing  your  labors  so 
well.  You  have  the  prayers  of  the  people,  and  I 
pray  for  the  speedy  and  peaceful  termination  of 
the  war  on  the  principles  of  your  proclamation." 
Meanwhile  I  shook  the  hand  of  the  President  and 
asked  him  for  his  autograph.  He  took  the  book 
which  I  presented  and  cheerfully  gave  his  name. 
Brother  B.  presented  his  book  and  received  Mr. 
Lincoln's  signature.  We  then  bade  him  goodbye 
and  took  our  leave,  thankful  for  the  privilege  of 
seeing  and  shaking  hands  with  the  President. 

As  we  passed  out  of  the  Presidential  Mansion 
we  met  on  the  veranda  the  President's  son,  some 
nine  years  of  age.  He  was  handling  some  boards 
that  lay  there  for  the  purpose  of  building  a  scaf- 
fold. We  shook  hands  with  him  and  Brother  B. 
inquired  his  name.  He  replied,  "Tom.""f  We  went 
from  there  to  the  Quartermaster  General's  Office 
and  found  Durbin.  We  repaired  to  the  rooms  of 
the  Commission  on  10th  Street,  and  spent  the 
evening  very  pleasantly  with  a  number  of  the 
delegates. 

Thus  runs  the  simple  narrative  of  my  father's 
interview  with  President  Lincoln,  the  Great  Heart 
in  the  White  House  \  but  it  clearly  reveals  that 
the  great  man,  who  has  such  a  reputation  for  sym- 
pathetic tenderness,  could  be  severely  just  when 
occasion  demanded. 

I  treasure  as  prized  possessions  the  leather- 
bound  book  which  contains  the  autograph  inscrip- 
tion in  Lincoln's  own  hand,  and  my  father's  diary 
relating  how  he  secured  this   precious   memento 


that  memorable  day.  These  keepsakes  bring  back 
to  me  sacred  memories  of  two  of  God's  noble- 
men, —  my  beloved  father  and  the  immortal 
Lincoln. 


Notes 

♦Breckinridge  was  the  name  of  one  of  Lincoln's  op- 
ponents for  the  Presidency  from  the  South  who  favored 
secession. 

fThomas  Lincoln,  commonly  called  "Tad,"  was  then 
eleven  years  of  age  instead  of  nine,  as  he  appeared  to  be. 


cA 


ONE  HUNDRED  COPIES  OF  THIS  BROCHURE 
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